Automatic apparatus for feeding stock to point swager or the like



June 12, 1956 D. A. EDGECOMBE ET AL AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR FEEDINGSTOCK TO POINT SWAGER OR THE LIKE 7 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 30 1950 D.A. EDGEcoMBA-z ETAL 2749x752 AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR FEEOTNO STOCK June12, i956 TO POINT SWAGER OR THE LIKE 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30,1950 D. A. EDGECOMBE ETAL 2,749,782 AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR FEEDINGSTOCK To POINT swAGER oR THE LIKE `lune l2, 1956 Filed Jun so. 195o 7Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS June l2, 1956 D. A. EDGECOMBE ETAL 2,749,782

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STOCK TO POINT SWAGER OR THE LIKE FiledJune 50, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 AUM/vang 7.' c1/Dash' MMM- ATTORNEY June12, 1956 D. A. EDGECOMBE ET AL 2,749,782

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STOCK 4 TO POINT SWGER OR THE LIKE BACKGRIPS Eu Hr D. A. EDGECOMBE r-:TAL 2,749,782 AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FCRFEEDING STOCK To P01-NT swAGER OR THE LIKE 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 MNUHL-o June12, 1956 Filed June 30, 1950 lNvENToRs Dd wd f4, fdyerombe BY S/Wey UEVU/75 4f Ant/rang Ta/005,47' ATTORNEY June l2, 1956 D. A. EDGECOMBEx-:TAL

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR FEEDING sTocx To POINT swAGER 0R THE LIKE 7Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed June 30, 1950 uml@ .65200 Swim INVENTORS Day/'df4. agecambe BY `T/a'kn/ 0. [ra/,5 ai

/4/7 /wny fla/005,0 M ATTORNEY United States Patent M' AUTOMATICAPPARATUS FR FEEDING STOCK TO PINT. SWAGER 0R THE LIKE David A.Edgecombe, Sidley 0. Evans, and Anthony T.

Laposki, Beaver Falls, Pa., assignors, by rnc-snc assignments, to TheBabcock & Wilcox Company, `lersey City, N. J., a corporation of NewJersey Application `lune 3i), 1950, Serial No. 171,321?,-

8 Claims. (Cl. 78'99) This invention relates to automatic stock handlingap, paratus and, more particularly, to automatically operable apparatusfor feeding stock to a point swager, or the like, and for dischargingthe processedy stock.

The apparatus of the present invention is particularly designed forefficient and economical feeding of elongated stock, such as metaltubes, bars, rods, and similar metal elements toward a rotary pointswager for the purpose of pointing an end of such elements. lnparticular, the invention apparatus is arranged for control and handlingof the stock by one man, as compared to known apparatus in which threeor more men are required to feed the stock toward the swager, form apoint thereon, and remove the finished or processed stock. While theinvention is capable of general use in feeding any elongated elements,such as tubes, rods, and bars, toward a processing machine formechanical or metallurgical treatment, it will, by way of example only,be more particularly described with reference to the handling of tubesfor pointing by a rotary swager.

During the manufacture of welded or seamless tubes, a point is formed onone end of each tube for facilitating the cold drawing or working of thetube. ln known operational set-ups, the tubes are taken from a stockpile, and the ends to be pointed are heated toa predeterminedtemperature in a suitable furnace. When the tube ends are at the righttemperature, the tubes are removed from the furnace and placed on alongitudinally reciprocable feeding arrangement which advances; theheatedend of the tube into a rotary swager'. The latter shapes a pointon such heated` en d. The tube must then be withdrawn from the swager,removed from the feeding arrangement, and placed on a storage rack or aconveyor for subsequent cold drawing or forming.

In practice, three men are necessary iny order to handle the tubes beingpointed. Additionally, in present setups it is diflicult to determinewhen. the required length of point has been formed on the tube, as wellas to adjust for differing point lengths required with different sizesof tubes. As a result the pointing operation has been relativelyexpensive, both in labor cost and in the cost of; renishing andrejections.

With the apparatus of the present invention, the entire operation isperformed automatically under the control of a single operator. All thatthis operator does is to load tubes from a stock pile onto a chainconveyor assembly, and set the controls in the automatic posi.- tion.The conveyor assembly automatically feeds the tubes one at a time to theswager feeding arrangement, the tube ends being progressively heated bya furnace while being so fed by the conveyor assembly. The feedingarrangement projects the heated end of a tube into the swager, whichlatter forms a point thereon. The feeding arrangement then withdraws thepointed tube and discharges it to a storage rack or the like. Should apoint of the required length notbe` formed4 on the tube before thefeeding arrangement retraets, the tube is al1- 2,749,782 Patented June12, 1956 tomatically` re-fed into the swager one or more times until apoint of4 the required, length has been formed. Such required' pointlength can be quickly and easily adjusted for a pre-set value. Thecontrols include a selector switch by means of which each of theseparate steps may be individually manually initiated. When the selectorswitch is on automatic, the above mentioned automatic cycle iscontinuously repeated.

For an understanding of the invention principles, referenCe is made tothe following description of a typical embodiment thereof as illustratedin the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a somewhat schematic plan view illustrating they generalarrangement of` the invention apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus looking from the rightof Fig. l;

Figs. 3 and 4 are plan and side elevation views, respectively, partiallybroken away, of the grip assemblies for feeding the tubes into theswager and withdrawing and discharging the tubes;

Fig. 5 is` an elevation view, partly in section, of` the swager andassociated point length control;

Fig. S-A is an enlarged elevation view of the point length controlassociated with the swager;

Fig. 6 is a view, on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3, illustrating4 a tubeactuated control for initiating feeding of a tube into the swager;

Fig. 7 is a schematic front elevation view of the apparatus illustratingthe relative locations of limit switch controls;

Fig. 8 is a schematic wiring diagram of the selectively manual orautomatic control system for the apparatus; and

Figs. 9 and 1.0 are schematic diagrams illustrating the hydrauliccontrols of the apparatus.

The drawings illustrate, by way of example only, the application of theinvention tothe pointing of the ends of welded or seamless metal tubesT. Referring to Figs. 1 through 4, the tubes T are stored on suitablemeans, such as a suitable loading table 11, adjacent which is anoperators platform 12 and an auxiliary control panel 13. The operatortransfers one tube at a time from table 11 to chain conveyor assembly20, alongside which is a heating furnace 15. The tubes are so disposedVon assembly 20 that one end of each tube will extend, through an opening14, into furnace 15 as assembly 2t) moves the tubes toward a feedingarrangement 25 for a rotary point swager 30. A main control panel 16 islocated adjacent swager 30, and a mirror 17 is provided so that a singleoperator on platform 12, controlling the operations from auxiliary panel13, can observe` the tubes T in the swager 30.

As described more fully hereinafter, when the handling apparatus isunder automatic control, conveyor assembly 2i) has an intermittent orstep-by-step motion in feeding the tubes T toward` feeding arrangement25. As each tube reaches the end of assembly 20 adjacent arrange-` ment2S, conveyor assembly 20 halts. Pickouts 4-1, forming part ofarrangement 2 5, remove the leading tube T from assembly 2i) ontosloping rails 42, so that the tube T rolls by gravity into rassembly 25.

As the tube drops into the assembly, it initiates a control sequencewhich causes front grips 40 and rear grips 50 to close around the tube.Grips 40 close on the tube with suicient force to positively advance thetube toward swager 3i), but insufficient to prevent slipping andspinning of the tube in the front grips during pointing of the tube.This prevents formation of a twisted point by the swager dies, as wouldoccur were the tube rigidly gripped against all movement. Back grips 50do not close tightly on the tube, merely forming a ring guidetherearound to prevent the tube ailing around during the swaging. At thesame time as they are closed, front grips 40 are moved toward swager 30.

The movement of the front grips toward the swager continues until thegrips reach a predetermined point, called the forward limiting position.Should a point of the proper length not have been formed on the tube atthe limit of forward movement of the front grips, the front grips areopened, retracted to a rear limiting position, and reclosed on the tube.The front grips are then re-advanced toward the swager, until thepointed end of the tube contacts the operator of an adjustablypositioned limit switch, such operator extending axially through ahollow driven shaft of the swager. When this limit switch is operated,the front grips are opened, while continuing their advance toward theabove mentioned forward limiting position. Upon attainment of suchlimiting position, the front grips are reclosed on tube T and retractedto the rear limiting position. Limit switch means are provided at therear limiting position to initiate a control sequence effecting openingof both grip assemblies, and operation of kickouts 43 which swingupwardly (Fig. 2) to discharge the pointed tube into sloping rails 44down which the tubes roll by gravity into a storage rack 45. If desired,rails 44 may discharge the finished tube onto another conveyor formovement to a further processing point.

Such limit switch means also re-start the conveyor assembly 20 toadvance the next tube toward the feeding assembly 25, the front tube onthe conveyor assembly having been fed to arrangement 25 simultaneouslywith discharge of the finished tube therefrom. The operation cycle isthen repeated.

Chaimconveyor assembly 20 Assembly 20 may comprise two or more chains21, each of which is trained over a pair of sprockets 22 and 23.Sprockets 22 and 23 are mounted on suitable supports held in elevatedrelation by columns 24, and the upper ends of the columns support guiderails 26 for the tubes. Chain 21 carries longitudinally spaced abutments27 for moving the tubes along rails 26. Adjacent the left rail 26 (asviewed in Fig. 1) is a heating furnace 15 having a slit or opening 14 sopositioned that the left ends of tubes T extend into the furnace duringtravel of the tubes along rails 26.

The shaft 28 mounting the forward sprocket 22 has secured thereto a cam29 having lugs 31. Lugs 31 are so spaced around the periphery of cam 29that each lug engages the operator of a limit switch LS-6 when anabutment 27 has advanced a tube T to the entrance ends of rails 42.Limit switch LS-6 opens the energizing circuit for the chain drivingmotor, so that chain 21 stops its motion until the motor is reenergizedas described more in detail hereinafter.

Swager feeding arrangement 25 The leading tube T on conveyor assembly 20is moved into feeding arrangement 25 by pickouts 41, which are operatedsimultaneously with kickouts 43 which discharge the pointed tube fromthe feeding arrangement into rack 45. Pickouts 41 are secured on atransversely extending shaft 32 mounted in bearings 33. A crank arm 34secured to shaft 32 is connected to the piston 36 of a cylinder 37. Thiscylinder, when activated, rocks shaft 32 to swing pickouts 41 clockwise(Fig. 2), moving the leading tube T onto rails 41.

Referring to Fig. 6, as tube T rolls along rails 42 into feedingarrangement 25, it strikes abutments 38 and depresses a pivotallymounted lever 39. Lever 39 is in engagement with the operator of a limitswitch LS-3, and closes this switch whenever a tube T drops into thefeeding arrangement. Lever 39 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 46,which, in turn, is mounted on a slide 47 supporting the front gripassembly 40. Slide 47 is longitudinally slidable, along an elevated base48, toward and away from swager 30, the height of base 48 being suchthat a tube mounted in grip assembly 40 is axially aligned with the diesof swager 30. The slide is reciprocated by the piston 51 of a hydrauliccylinder 52 mounted on base 48. Grip assembly 40 comprises a fixed frontgrip 53, fixedly secured on slide 47, and a transversely movable reargrip 54. The latter is moved to and from gripping position by ahydraulic cylinder 55 having its piston rod 56 secured to grip 54.Cylinder 55 is mounted on an extension 57 of base 47.

Sliding base 47 also supports one of the kickouts 43. The lattercomprises a radial arm 58 pivotally mounted in a bearing 59 on base 47and having a vertically extending arcuate extension 61 on its free end.A crank arm 62 is secured to and extends rearwardly from kickout 58, andis secured to the piston rod 63 of a hydraulic cylinder 65. The latteris rockably mounted in a depending bracket 64 secured to the undersideof base 47.

The back grip assembly 50 is substantially the same as the front gripassembly 40 and includes a sliding base 67 which is mounted on anelevated support 68 for adjustment longitudinally thereof. Thisadjustment is effected by a motor 60 mounted on a bracket 69 at theright end of support 68 (Fig. 4). Through a gear reduction unit 70,motor 60 drives a threaded shaft 81 engaging a nut 82 on theunder-surface of sliding base 67. Rotation of shaft 81 effectslongitudinal movement of back grip assembly 50 relative to support 68and swager 30. Such adjustment is for the purpose of advantageouslypositioning grips 50 to provide a ring guide for different length tubesT.

Grip assembly 50 includes a fixed grip 73 on base 67 which is cooperablewith a transversely movable grip 74. The latter is secured to the pistonrod 76 of a hydraulic cylinder 75 mounted on an extension 77 of slidingbase 67. The kickout 43 associated with the back grip assembly is thesame as that associated with the front grip assembly and is pivotallymounted in a bearing 79. A rearward extension 78 ot' kickout 43 issecured to the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder mounted in the samemanner as cylinder 65.

Swager 30 and the point length adjusmenl Referring to Figs. 5 and 5a,swager 30 is a standard rotary swager, such as an Etna No. 312 swagingmachine, and includes rotating dies 91 secured to a hollow spindle 92having a pulley 93 on its rear end. Pulley 93 is driven by belts 94 fromthe driving pulley 96 of a motor 95. The entire arrangement is mountedon a heavy support base 97.

The point length adjustment includes a limit switch LS-S which isslidably mounted on guides 98 on a bracket 99 secured to the rear end ofswager machine 30. Switch LS-S has a depending nut 101 which is engagedby a threaded screw 102 having an operating screw head 103. By turningscrew 102, switch LS-S may be adjusted toward and away from dies 91 toadjust the point length.

Switch LS-S is operated by a member 104 slidably mounted on guides 98. Acoil spring 106 biases element 104 away from switch LS-S. Element 104carries a longitudinally adjustable abutment 107 arranged to engage theoperator 108 of switch LS-5. A rod 109 is secured to the forward end ofelement 104 and extetnds axially through hollow spindle 92, beingsuitably guided therein by a collar 111. The forward end of rod 109carries a head 110 adjacent the inner ends of dies 91. Head 110 isarranged to be engaged by the point formed on the tube, as the tube isadvanced through dies 91. When the point attains a pre-settable length,rod 109 and element 104 are moved to the left a sufcient amount tooperate switch LS-S. In a manner described hereinafter, this effectsretraction of the pointed tube from the swager.

Electrical and hydraulic operating and control systems The operation ofthe invention apparatus will be best understood by reference to Figs. 7through, 10,. Fig.` 7` is a, somewhat schematic diagram illustratingthe`relative location of the several limit switches. which control theautomatic sequences of operation of` the apparatus. In this figure, thevarious conductors associated with the limit switches are schematicallyillustrated as joined into a cable 1,05 which maybe brought to asuitable terminal board, such as control panel 16. At the controlpanel,or at a suitable terminal board, the several, conductors of cable 165,shown spread out at 111, are'interconnected to each other and to relays,push buttons, solenoid valves, input wires and lthe like to complete thecontrol circuits.

Referring to Figs. 9 and l0, two hydraulic systems are provided for,respectively, feeding front grip assembly 40 relative to swager 3G, andopening and closing the two sets of grips. Referring to Fig. 9, whichdiagrammatically illus-trates the hydraulic system for feeding gripassembly 40 relative to the swager, pumps 112, 112, of substantiallyequal volume and pressure, are driven by a motor 113 to withdrawhydraulic fluid from tank 114 and pump fluid under pressure into 4-wayvalve 115; The latter may be of any suitable commercial type, such asthose manufactured by Vickers, Inc., and designated CK-2610-AC orCK-2630-AC. As the construction of this valve is known to those skilledin the art, it has not been indicated in detail. it should be noted thatthe left hand pump 112 is provided wih a relief valve 116 discharginginto tank 114. The right hand pump 112 forces fluid to valve 115 througha check valve 117, and is provided with an unloading valve 113discharging back into tank 114. Valves 116, 117 and 118 may be standardcommercial valves, such as those manufactured by Vickers, lnc., for eX-ample.

Valve 115 is a solenoid operated valve, beingy provided with opera-tingsolenoids S-S and S-9. When solenoid S-S is energized, fluid underpressure is directed to the right end of cylinder 52 to force piston 51to the left, the uid being exhausted from the left end of the cylinderthrough valve 115. This action advances grip assembly 40 toward swager3?. The reverse action takes piace when solenoid S-Q is energized,piston 51 being moved to the right to retract grip assembly 40. Aspecial valve arrangement is provided so that the rate of feeding of thetube toward the swager may be controlled. For this purpose, a checkvalve 121 and a throttle, or speed control, valve 122 are connected inparallel with each other between valve 115 and the right end of cylinder52. During advance of the grip assembly 40 toward the swager, checkvalve 121 is closed and all the hydraulic uid must tlow through speedcontrol valve 122. The latter may be a suitable throttling valve of acommercial type, such as manufactured by Vickers, Inc., for example. kAsuitable valve is the Microfeed adjustable ilow control Valve ofVickers, lnc., bulletin 45-35 A. Adjustment of valve 122 controls therate of iiuid iiow to cylinder 52 and thus the rate of feeding the tubeT to `the swager. On retraction of grip assembly 40, check valve 121provides unrestricted ow of fluid from the right end of cylinder 52 tovalve 115 and thus to tank 114.

The hydraulic control circuit for opening and closing the grips, asshown in Fig. l0, includes a double pump unit comprising a high pressurepump 123 and a low pressure pump 124 both driven by a motor 125. Lowpressure pump 124 provides a high volume output at low pressure, toprovide a rapid closing of grip assemblies 40 and 50, some volume beingprovided by high pressure pump 123. When the pressure is built up due toclosing of the grips, a check valve 126 and an unloading valve 127conjointly operate to cause the working liuid to be supplied solely bythe high pressure, low volume pump 123. This provides a strong closingaction of the grips without running an excessive amount of hydraulic uidthrough relief valve 128. Correspondingly, excessive heating ofhydraulic uid is avoided and no increased power is required of motor125.

Control 0f the. opening andr closing- Ot thecorresponding assemblies iSby means Qf solenoid operatedA-way valves 131 and 132 which may be the,same as valjve 115i. Operation of valve 131.` to close the back grips iseffected' by energization of solenoid S-6,l whereas, opening of the backgrips is effected by energization of solenoid- SY-1. Similarly,solenoidiS-S' operates valve` 132 to elect clos.- ing of the; frontgrips and solenoid S7 operates valve 132 to effect opening of the frontgrips.

The control" circuits are schematically illustrated in Fig. 8'.Selection between automatic and manual operation is affordedI by aselector switch SS, having control handle 130, schematically indicatedas being on a common shaft 133 carrying a plurality of contact arms,such as 134. When handle 130 isswung to the, Automatic position, arms134J are engaged'with contacts, such as,136, to condition the circuitfor automatic position. When handle 134 is swung to the Manual position,arms 134 are engaged with contacts 137. These latter contacts areconnected to push buttons such asPB-l' through PB8,l

by means of which the several functions of the machine may beselectively manually initiated.

Energization of the control circuit is provided from mains L-1 and L-2;Automatic operation is set-up by connecting main L-1 to a subsidiaryline L-3, with switchA MS-l, and the chain operates until such time asan abut-4 ment 31 of cam 29 opensl switch LS-6 (Figs. 2 and 7). Thechain then. stops, with a tube T at the forward end of rails 26.

The front grips are open, as solenoid valve S-7 is.

energized by virtue of the closed back contacts C-3 of relay C.Similarly, grip assembly 40 is in the retracted position due toenergization of solenoid. S.-9 through the closed back contacts B-3v ofrelay B.

As will be described more fullyy hereinafter, the. retraction of thefinished tube from the swager has set inoperation an automatic controlsequence which operates kickouts 43 to discharge the finished tube andpick-outs 41 to move a` new tube T from rails 26 onto rails 42. Itshould be noted, and will be explained more fully hereinafter, that theback grip assembly 50 is likewise open at this time. Also, limit switchLS-1 at the forward limiting position of grip assembly 40 is closed andlimit switches LS-2A and LS-ZB, at the back limiting position of gripassembly 40 have been operated. Consequently, switch LS-2A connected toswitch LS-2B is closed.

As the new tube drops into the front grips, it strikes lever 39: (Fig.6) closing limit switch LS-S. This picks upl relay B, which holdsthrough its front contacts B-1 and switch LS-l, shunting switches, LS-ZAand LS-3, andV contacts D-2v of relay D. As relay B picks-up, con tactsB-2 andl B-3 open and contacts B-4 and B.-5 close. The opening ofcontacts B-Z has no effect ati this time, and opening of contacts B-3deenergizes solenoid S-9 controlling the retract positionY of valve 115.Closure of contacts B-4 energizes. solenoid S8, to condition valve tooperate cylinder 5,2 to advance grip assembly toward the swager.

Closure of contacts B-5 picks-up relay C through back contacts D-3 ofrelay D, thus closing contacts C-1 and C-4, and opening contacts C-S.Closure of contacts C-1 has no immediate effect. Opening of contacts C-3and closing of contacts C-4v deenergizes solenoid S7 and energizessolenoids S5 and S-6, thus closing both grip assemblies 40 and 50 on thetube.

The automatic feeding of a tube to swager 30 is cyclical and repetitive.Front grips 40 close on the tube at the rear limiting position of thegrips, the grips are advanced towards swager 30 until the grips reachtheir forward limiting position, the grips open, and are retracted totheir rear limiting position, and the grips are again closed on the tubeto repeat the cycle. The foregoing cycle is repeated until such time asa point of predetermined length has been formed on the tube. At suchtime, limit switch LS-S is operated by the pointed tube end, whichcauses the front grips 40 to open during their advance, and to reclosewhen the front grips operate switch LS-l. The retraction of the frontgrips then withdraws the tube from the swager.

As front grips 40 reach their forward limiting position, and if suchadvance is not sufficient to form a point of the pre-set length on thetube, the resulting operation of switch LS-l drops relay B which, inturn drops relay C through contacts B-S. Closing of contacts B-3energizes retract solenoid S-9 and deenergizes advance solenoid S-8.Closing of contacts C-3 energizes solenoid S-7 to open the front grips,with opening of contacts C-4 deenergizing the grips closing solenoidsS-S and S-6.

As the front grips begin to move rearwardly, switch LS-l recloses butrelay B is not picked up as switch LS-ZA in its pick-up circuit is open.When the front grips 40 reach the rear position, switch LS-2A is closedto pick up relay B, and the grip closing and tube feeding cycle isrepeated.

When a point of the required length has been formed, switch LS-S isoperated, by the tube point engaging head 110 of operator 109, to closea shunt around contacts D-S and pick up relay D through closed switchLS-7. Relay D then holds through contacts D-S. Contacts D1 close, butthese have no effect on starter MS-l as contacts C-l are simultaneouslyopened by virtue of contacts D3 which drop relay C (contacts B-Z areopen as relay B is energized). Opening of contacts D-2 has no eifect onrelay B as these contacts are shunted by contacts B*1 which are closed.Closing of contacts C-3 energizes solenoid S-7 to open the front grips,and opening of contacts C4 deenergizes grip closing solenoids S-S andS-6.

The front grips continue to advance until switch LS-l is operated, whichdrops relay B. Closing of contacts B-2 picks up relay C through switchLS-2B and closed contacts D-4. Closing of contacts B-3 and opening ofcontacts B-4 starts retraction of the forward grips through solenoidsS-8 and S-9. Closing of contacts B-5 has no etect on relay C as contactsD-3 are now open.

Closing of contacts C-1 starts the chain motor through' starter MS-l,contacts D-l being now closed, and the chain operates until switch LS-6is stripped by cam 29. Opening of contacts C-3 and closing of contactsC-4 recloses front grips 40 through solenoids S-S and S-7. The forwardgrips now draw the tube out of the swager until the rear limitingposition is reached, and switch LS-2 is operated.

Reopening of switch LS-ZB in series with contacts B-2 drops relay C, andthe closing of switch LS-ZB in the circuit of solenoid S-1 energizes thelatter to open the back grips. Contacts C-l open, but the chain operatesuntil switch LS-6 is opened. Closing of contacts C-3 and opening ofcontacts C-4 operates solenoid valves S-S, S-6 and S-7 to open the frontgrips. Switch LS-1 has reclosed as the forward grips started to retract.

As the rear grips 50 open, switch LS-4 is closed energizing solenoid S-2which activates kickout cylinders 65 and 85, and pick-out cylinder 37 tooperate kickouts 43 and pick-outs 41. This action discharges the pointedtube from the grip assemblies and moves the next tube onto rails 41 forentrance into the grip assemblies. As kickout 43 swings up, switch LS-7is operated, opening the circuit for relay D and thus opening contactsD-1, D-4, D-S and closing D-Z and D3. Closing of contacts D-Z in theenergizing circuit for relay B conditions the circuit for picking uprelay B when the new tube closes switch LS-3 as it drops into the gripassembly, switch LS2A in this pick-up circuit having been reclosed whenthe front grips reach their rear limiting position. The describedpointing operation is then automatically repeated.

The push buttons PB-9 and PB-S are associated with motor starters MS-Zand MS-3 for motor 60, to operate this motor to adjust the back gripassembly 5t) in accordance with different lengths of tube T. The otherpush buttons PB-1 through PB-S each initiate manual energization of oneof the functions of the machine. Thus, push button PB-l operatesconveyor motor starter MS-l. Push buttons PB-7 and PB-7 control,respectively, the advance solenoid S-8 and the retract solenoid 8 9, anormally closed pair of contacts of switch LS-S being connected betweenbutton PB-Z and solenoid S-S to interrupt the advance when the point iscompleted. Push button PB-3 closes the front grips through operation ofsolenoid S-7. Push button PB-4 operates the pickout 41 and pickouts 43.Push button PB-6 closes the front grips, and push button PB-S opens theback grips. lt will be observed that operation of stop push button PB-lldisconnects auxiliary line L-3 from main line L-ll to stop alloperations. It should be noted also that switch LS-5 is in shunt without push button PB- so that, even in the manual position of switch SS,out solenoid S-9 is automatically energized when the point has a pre-setlength. An indicating lamp is included in this shunt circuit so that itlights upon closure of switch LS-' to apprise the operator of completionof the point. rThe out movement may be interrupted short of the rearlimiting position of the front grip assembly by moving switch SW-l toits upward position which cuts out limit switch LS-ZA.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the inventionprinciples, it should be understood that the invention may be otherwiseembodied without departing from such principles.

We claim:

1. In combination with a machine for treating the ends of elongatedmetal articles, handling apparatus positioned and arranged to feed thearticles to the machine for treatment and comprising grip means arrangedto receive and grip an article and movable, in alignment with thearticle, toward and away from the machine; i'irst operating means foradvancing and retracting said grip means relative to the machine; secondoperating means for opening and closing said grip means on an article; arst control element operable by an article received in said grip means;a second control element operable by said grip means at the limit ofretraction of the latter; said iirst and second control elements, whenjointly operated, conjointly actuating said second operating means toclose said grip means on an article and said iirst operating means toadvance said grip means toward said machine; a third control elementoperable by said grip means at the limit of advance thereof toconjointly actuate said second operating means to open said grip meansand said first operating means to retract said grip means from saidmachine; whereby, when an article is received in said grip means, thelatter are cyclically closed and advanced and then opened and retractedto feed the article repetitively toward the machine; and a fourthcontrol element located in the path of an article fed to the machine andoperable by the article when a predetermined length of the end of thelatter has been treated; said fourth control element, when operated bythe article, actuating said second operating means to open said gripmeans; said third control element, when operated subsequent to operationof said fourth control element, conjointly actuating said secondoperating means to close said grip means and said rst operating means toretract said grip means to with- Adraw the article from the machine;said second control element, when operated subsequent to operation ofsaid fourth control element, actuating said second operating means toopen said grip means and de-activating said first operating means.

2. Handling apparatus as claimed in claim l in which said grip meanscomprises forward grip means operable by both said first and secondoperating means, and rear grip means; and third operating means foropening and closing said rear grip means; said third operating meansbeing actuated by said rst control element, when operated, to close saidrear grip means, and by said second control element, when operatedsubsequent to operation of said fourth control element, to open saidrear grip means; said forward grip means frictionally engaging thearticle and said rear grip means loosely embracing the article to limitlateral movement of the rear portion thereof.

3. Handling apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which the machine is arotary point swager, the articles are tubes, and said rear grip meansinhibit whipping of the rear end of the tubes during pointing of theforward ends thereof.

4. Handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said controlelements comprise limit switches controlling energizing circuits forsaid operating means.

5. Handling apparatus as claimed in claim l in which said operatingmeans comprise fluid pressure actuators controlled by solenoid operatedvalve means, and said control elements comprise limit switchescontrolling en ergization of said valve means.

6. Handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said grip meanscomprises first grip means operable by both said rst and secondoperating means, and second grip means; third operating means foropening and closing said second grip means; said third operating meansbeing actuated by said first control element, when operated, to closesaid second grip means, and by said second control element, whenoperated subsequent to operation of said fourth control element, to opensaid second grip means; mechanism operable to eject an article from saidgrip means; fourth operating means for said mechanism; and a fth controlelement operable responsive to opening of said second grip means; saidfifth control element, when operated subsequent to operation of saidfourth control element, actuating said fourth operating means to operatesaid mechanism to eject the article from said grip means.

7. Handling apparatus as claimed in claim 6 includ ing mechanismoperable to feed an article into said grip means; said second-namedmechanism being operated by said fourth operating means conjointly withoperation of said first-named mechanism; and said fifth control element,when operated subsequent to operation of said fourth control element,actuating said third operating means to operate both of said mechanismsto eject the article from said grip means and to feed an article intosaid grip means.

8. Handling apparatus as claimed in claim 7 in which said first-namedmechanism comprises conveyor means movable laterally toward the line ofmovement of said grip means and arranged to move the articles laterallyinto said grip means; and including a heating furnace means extendingalong the side of the conveyor means nearest the machine toprogressively heat the ends of the articles to be treated.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,318,378 Hansen Oct. 14, 1919 1,683,661 Felding Sept. 11, 19282,210,531 Engelbaugh et al Aug. 6, 1940 2,359,167 Somes Sept. 26, 1944FOREIGN PATENTS 618,402 Great Britain Feb. 21, 1949

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A MACHINE FOR TREATING THE ENDS OF ELONGATEDMETAL ARTICLES, HANDLING APPARATUS POSITIONED AND ARRANGED TO FEED THEARTICLES TO THE MACHINE FOR TREATMENT AND COMPRISING GRIP MEANS ARRANGEDTO RECEIVE AND GRIP AN ARTICLE AND MOVABLE, IN ALIGNMENT WITH THEARTICLE, TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE MACHINE; FIRST OPERATING MEANS FORADVANCING AND RETRACTING SAID GRIP MEANS RELATIVE TO THE MACHINE; SECONDOPERATING MEANS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID GRIP MEANS ON AN ARTICLE; AFIRST CONTROL ELEMENT OPERABLE BY AN ARTICLE RECEIVED IN SAID GRIPMEANS; A SECOND CONTROL ELEMENT OPERABLE BY SAID GRIP MEANS AT THE LIMITOF RETRACTION OF THE LATTER; SAID FIRST AND SECOND CONTROL ELEMENTS,WHEN JOINTLY OPERATED, CONJOINTLY ACTUATING SAID SECOND OPERATING MEANSTO CLOSE SAID GRIP MEANS ON AN ARTICLE AND SAID FIRST OPERATING MEANS TOADVANCE SAID GRIP MEANS TOWARD SAID MACHINE; A THIRD CONTROL ELEMENTOPERABLE BY SAID GRIP MEANS AT THE LIMIT OF ADVANCE THEREOF TOCONJOINTLY ACTUATE SAID SECOND OPERATING MEANS TO OPEN SAID GRIP MEANSAND SAID FIRST OPERATING MEANS TO RETRACT SAID GRIP MEANS FROM SAIDMACHINE; WHEREBY, WHEN AN ARTICLE IS RECEIVED IN SAID GRIP MEANS, THELATTER ARE CLYLICALLY CLOSED AND ADVANCED AND THEN OPENED AND RETRACTEDTO FEED THE ARTICLE REPETITIVELY TOWARD THE MACHINE; AND A FOURTHCONTROL ELEMENT LOCATED IN THE PATH OF AN ARTICLE FED TO THE MACHINE ANDOPERABLE BY THE ARTICLE WHEN A PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF THE END OF THELATTER HAS BEEN TREATED; SAID FOURTH CONTROL ELEMENT, WHEN OPERATED BYTHE ARTICLE, ACTUATING SAID SECOND OPERATING MEANS TO OPEN SAID GRIPMEANS; SAID THIRD CONTROL ELEMENT, WHEN OPERATED SUBSEQUENT TO OPERATIONOF SAID FOURTH CONTROL ELEMENT, CONJOINTLY ACTUATING SAID SECONDOPERATING MEANS TO CLOSE SAID GRIP MEANS AND SAID FIRST OPERATING MEANSTO RETRACT SAID GRIP MEANS TO WITHDRAW THE ARTICLE FROM THE MACHINE;SAID SECOND CONTROL ELEMENT, WHEN OPERATED SUBSEQUENT TO OPERATION OFSAID FOURTH CONTROL ELEMENT, ACTUATING SAID SECOND OPERATING MEANS TOOPEN SAID GRIP MEANS AND DE-ACTIVATING SAID FIRST OPERATING MEANS.